I recently went to meet with a potential client and after some extensive conversation to find out how I could use social media to grow her business we got to the part of the conversation where we needed to discuss budget. She shared with me that she had a very small budget to work with. After more conversation it became obvious she had spent majority of her allotted monies on a prior marketing company that had over promised and under delivered. In addition, they were continuing to charge her for services she didn’t really need.

This kind of experience is unfortunately far too common and it’s not the first time I’ve experienced it and I’m certain it wont be the last. Choosing a marketing professional isn’t something that should be taken lightly and not every professional is a great fit for your business. When finding the professional that’s right for you there are a few things to consider.

Make sure to do your homework on each individual that you meet with or interview. Even if they are not consistently active, do they have social media accounts with a decent following? Does the content they’ve posted make sense? Do they have a presence on the channels they are claiming to have knowledge of? These are often good indicators of your social media professionals knowledge on the industry.

Secondly, don’t feel pressured to make a decision after the first meeting. Once you receive your initial proposal take another meeting to ask questions or obtain more details about the services you will be receiving if anything remains unclear.

Meet with more than one marketing company and compare pricing and services. Most proposals are confidential so you shouldn’t share information from company to company but you are allowed to know what will work best for you. Paying a high price for something doesn’t always mean great results and paying less for something doesn’t mean you’re getting poor service- quality versus quantity.

It comes down to knowing your own business and finding a social media professional who you think has a clear understanding of what your businesses wants, goals, and needs are. If you’re a small business with a very specific target market you may need to spend more than a business that has a broad demographic simply to make sure you’re properly reaching your clientele.